With gay rights group set to march, Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Harvard withdraws from St. Pat's parade

Tuesday

Mar 4, 2014 at 6:00 AMMar 4, 2014 at 2:29 PM

By Brian Lee TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

HARVARD — As organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston work to ease a two-decade ban on gay organizations, the longtime principal of a Catholic school here has maintained his position not to condone “the homosexual lifestyle” and says the school will not participate in the March 16 event.

Immaculate Heart of Mary School, at the Saint Benedict Center, has marched in 24 parades in South Boston.

The Grades 1-12 school provided a float depicting the culture and faith of Irish people around the central figure of St. Patrick, Principal Brother Thomas Dalton said.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and parade organizers recently negotiated a tentative deal to allow the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group MassEquality to march in the parade. But they won't be permitted to wear T-shirts or hold signs that include the word “gay” or refer to sexual orientation. Some factions have objected to that stipulation.

A MassEquality spokesman said Executive Director Kara Coredini had no comment about the school's decision, saying she was focused on negotiations with parade organizers.

In a statement, Ms. Coredini said Mr. Walsh, Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and parade organizer Phil Wuschke met with MassEquality to discuss the organization's concerns. She said the group would only march if LGBT people are able to march openly and honestly. No agreement was reached, but the conversation is ongoing, she said.

Brother Dalton said he made the decision to pull the school band out of the event after learning through media reports Saturday that the homosexual advocacy group would be allowed to march.

Forty-five band students were set to participate, while about another seven younger students were to appear on the float, he said.

“This is not a new issue for us,” Brother Dalton said, recalling a 1991 phone call from parade organizer John Hurley, who was notifying the school that a small contingent of gay marchers wanted to participate in the South Boston event.

“I said, 'If they're in, we're out,' ” Brother Dalton said. “That message is antithetical to ours. Ever since then we've been in the parade, once (Mr. Hurley) had his victories in the United States Supreme Court.”

Mr. Hurley unanimously won a 1995 Supreme Court decision that sanctioned his right to exclude gay and lesbian groups.

Brother Peter Brackett, the Harvard school's band director, said the school has supported Mr. Hurley's efforts “from the beginning of this struggle to keep the parade family-oriented.” He added: “We testified in Superior Court in 1991 and explained why we pulled out of the parade that year. Ever since, we have admired (him) and the veterans for their courageous defense of traditional family values despite vilification and sparse support.”

Asked if he was concerned about pushback from an increasingly diverse and tolerant society, Brother Dalton said, “I don't worry about it. There will be some, I'm sure. We've already gotten a few crank calls (Monday) morning. In general, people we know are fully supportive.”

Brother Brackett said students are disappointed about not going, “yet they are happy to stand up for their faith. They believe that the veterans and the loyal Irish of South Boston, with the help of St. Patrick, can turn things around once again.”

In a statement, Brother Dalton said the float had become the icon of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in South Boston, appearing in all types of media whenever the parade is mentioned.

“The familiar scene of St. Patrick joyfully giving his blessing to the crowds has, sad to say, come to an end,” Brother Dalton said.

"In the footsteps of St. Patrick, IHM does not condone and will not appear to condone the homosexual lifestyle.”

He added: “We must stand firm with the Church which states in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, that 'homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity' and 'are intrinsically disordered.' ”

The parade is sponsored by the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council.

Event organizers did not respond to an email left Monday morning. Its voice mailbox appeared to be full.

According to the event's website, the South Boston St. Patrick's Parade is the second-largest parade in the country and has been viewed by nearly 600,000 to 1 million people annually.

In 1995, the sponsors made participation by invitation only, and said the parade would commemorate the role of traditional families in Irish history and protest the earlier court rulings. But several months later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Massachusetts courts had previously violated the parade sponsors' First Amendment rights when they forced them to allow the gay group to participate.

Mr. Maney, who portrayed St. Patrick a number of times on the school's float, said, “This parade is meant to honor him and should not be used as political leverage for any special interest group. It's a shame that St. Patrick and what he stood for can no longer be respectfully represented in his own parade.”

Last year, Immaculate Heart of Mary School also pulled out of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Worcester. The director had cited a conflict with the school band's assigned sponsor.